Jefferson Lake

Chris Wilder will tell his Cobblers players that the only way they will maintain their current good form is by keeping up their relentless work rate on the pitch.

Town won 2-1 at Shrewsbury on Saturday to record a seventh win in the past nine outings and that record is tested by the visit of Portsmouth to Sixfields on Tuesday night.

The game should be a good one, with Pompey likely to be backed in good numbers and Ricky Holmes going up against his former club for the first time since his January transfer to Northampton.

Wilder was in buoyant mood at the New Meadow on Saturday but will not allow his players to bask in the glory of that victory and instead instruct them to keep up their intensity.

“We have to make sure we follow up on Tuesday night,” he said. “I’ve been in this position so many times when you put a fantastic performance in and you lower your levels on the Tuesday night.

“People will be looking at us and talking about us if we go to Shrewsbury and get a fantastic result and then don’t show the consistency.

“We have managed to do that since January and Tuesday now turns into a big game for us.

“We don’t want to crush the boys’ confidence and we want them to play with freedom; there were some outstanding performances all over the pitch but we have to make sure we remind them that the game changes pretty quickly.

“Once you think you’ve cracked it and think you’re a good team things happen, so our work ethic has to be the key.

“We work hard to get back into our shape and press teams to stop them playing and we have to keep that going over the remainder of the season.”